They've already had sex at least 3 times when she said that line. The ketchup-bottle metaphor didn't really fit Maybe something more related to... walking down an aisle, perhaps?... would have been more appropriate.

@Knixon said:

They've already had sex at least 3 times when she said that line. The ketchup-bottle metaphor didn't really fit Maybe something more related to... walking down an aisle, perhaps?... would have been more appropriate.

I thought it was a perfect metaphor, one of the only quotable lines of the season.

How is "I've been smacking that ketchup bottle for a long time, all she's gotta do is tip it over and point it at her fries!" a metaphor for getting married, rather than having sex?

@Knixon said:

How is "I've been smacking that ketchup bottle for a long time, all she's gotta do is tip it over and point it at her fries!" a metaphor for getting married, rather than having sex?

I think it's more about getting Sheldon to love her as opposed to sex. I don't think she really thought Sheldon was that ready to sleep with Ramona so quickly. Break his shell, perhaps.

She's only been trying to sleep with him since season 6 for the most part. There was little-to-no chance it would occur in seasons 4 and 5.

So Amy figures that once she spent 5-6 years making Sheldon capable of loving - pouring his ketchup?!?! - on her, he might then suddenly be capable of pouring it on ANYone? At the drop of a hat, basically? That doesn't make sense, especially for Sheldon.

@CalabrianQueen said:

Anyone else think Mayim was at her absolute best in this episode? Ketchup bottle line delivery was fantastic.

I thought it was a great line, too. My interpretation of it was that Amy had worked so hard to mold Sheldon into boyfriend material, and she didn't want someone else to take him now that she had him like she wanted him. In other words, she did all the work (like the work it takes to get ketchup out of a bottle) and then someone else would get to reap the rewards (like the ketchup finally coming out).

But Amy claimed to have already turned Sheldon into "a functioning boyfriend" in the Brain Bowl episode. Which would mean that he's already "poured his ketchup" on HER. Unless it was supposed to be a marriage metaphor, which would be bad. Or a metaphor for having sex, which they'd already done at least 3 times by the time she said that.

It also leaves aside the reality - unfortunate reality, for Amy - that Ramona would easily be a better match for Sheldon, as long as she doesn't have the ultra-controlling stuff going on still. And it's not an uncommon situation either. People - both male and female - often waste a lot of time "making someone a good partner" and then lose them because they were NEVER a good partner for THEM.

I actually just called Amy and she said my interpretation was correct.

Oh, you still have your Fisher-Price telephone, how cute!

@CalabrianQueen said:

@Knixon said:

They've already had sex at least 3 times when she said that line. The ketchup-bottle metaphor didn't really fit Maybe something more related to... walking down an aisle, perhaps?... would have been more appropriate.

I thought it was a perfect metaphor, one of the only quotable lines of the season.

It WAS a metaphor for sex. My interpretation is that is the Amy introduced him to it so it woul now be easier for a more attractive women to coax him into sex. I never thought the line had anything to do with marriage.

The implication of a story like that, is that you've been smacking the bottle a long time, WITHOUT SUCCESS. But Amy has HAD success, at least 3 times that we can be sure of.

@Knixon said:

But Amy claimed to have already turned Sheldon into "a functioning boyfriend" in the Brain Bowl episode.

That reminds me of what Penny and the other girls said about Leonard in the episode "The Seperation Oscillation". Leonard had confessed that he kissed Mandy Chow, and Penny was talking things over with the girls.

Penny: "You know, he never would’ve done this when we first met. He is cockier now."

Amy: "That is because you made him more confident."

Bernadette: "You know, if you think about it, without you, he never would’ve grown into the person he is now."

It seems that Penny and Amy have changed the guys (for the better?): they are now acting more self-confident, and so appear more attractive to other women.

Yes, that's part of my other points too. Amy has at least arguably (I say arguably because I would say that Sheldon has actually changed very little since Episode One, and there's plenty of evidence for that argument) made Sheldon capable of being "a functioning boyfriend" for SOMEONE. But that SOMEONE is NOT really AMY. It could easily be Ramona.

@Knixon said:

The implication of a story like that, is that you've been smacking the bottle a long time, WITHOUT SUCCESS. But Amy has HAD success, at least 3 times that we can be sure of.

I don't think you get the joke.The implication is not lack of sucess , it's that a difficult task was now made easier becuase Amy did all the work already to get him to want to have sex in the first place. She warmed up the car and Romona can just show up and drive it away.

Oh I understand the attempted reference. Or joke. I just don't think it worked correctly. Bad premise. Or perhaps a non-sequitur, at least to some extent.

Besides, Amy didn't just warm up the car, she's taken it for a few spins herself. However, to extend the car metaphor, Amy doesn't have clear title.

But again, to the extent Amy was successful in making Sheldon a "functioning boyfriend," I still think she made him "a functioning boyfriend" for SOMEONE ELSE - indeed, maybe someone like Ramona - not really suitable for herself.